Toronto ravine system
Encyclopedia
The Toronto ravine system is one of the most distinctive features of the geography of Toronto
, Ontario
, Canada
. It is a network of deep ravine
s that form a large urban forest
that runs throughout much of the city. For the most part designated as parkland, the ravines are largely undeveloped.
some 12,000 years ago. The glaciers flattened the terrain, and deposited a thick layer of loose sand and soil over the region. Over the millennia even small rivers and creeks eroded
this soil cutting deep ravines through what is today the Toronto region. To the north of Toronto is the 1900-km2 Oak Ridges Moraine
. The largest ravines are home to the rivers running south from the Moraine to Lake Ontario
: the Humber River
, the Don River, and the Rouge River
. Smaller creeks and streams rise within Toronto from rain and melt water.
Despite the dense population of metropolitan Toronto, many of the ravines have been left close to their natural state. The most important reason for this is the danger of flooding. The rivers and streams that flow through the ravines are highly variable. During the late summer many of the smaller ones will slow to a trickle or even disappear completely. During the spring and after major storms, the creeks often overflow their banks. Every few decades, a massive flooding event will occur where the ravines are almost totally flooded. The most recent such event was in 1954 when Hurricane Hazel
arrived. That storm dropped over 12 cm (5 inches) of rain on the city in a day onto soil that was already waterlogged by a week of rain. In the post-war boom years several developments had begun to encroach on the ravine lands, and these neighbourhoods were badly damaged by the storm. Whole blocks were washed away and 81 people killed. The damage was most severe along the Humber River, where a part of a street
was destroyed completely. This disaster led to an almost complete ban on development in the ravines, and a new Region Conservation Authority
was created to maintain them as open spaces.
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Early settlers quickly discovered that the sandy and gravelly soil of the ravines made them unsuitable for agriculture. They were extensively logged during the nineteenth century, and there are very few trees in the ravines that date to before the end of logging around 1850. The rivers and creeks were also an important source of power for early European settlers, and many mills operated on the rivers in the nineteenth century, with the last closing in 1914.
The largest of the ravines, the Don Valley, is one of the most transformed. The southern portion of the Don was completely encased in a concrete channel to prevent flooding and allow industry to locate in the area. Along the length of the valley, first the rail lines and then the six-lane Don Valley Parkway
were constructed. Today the industries along the lower Don are gone, and significant efforts are underway to restore the lower Don to a more natural condition.
Several smaller ravines have almost completely disappeared due to development and industrial use. Smaller creeks running through the downtown
, such as Garrison Creek
and Taddle Creek
, were almost completely bricked over
and today run deep under the modern city centre. These were used as sewers by the early residents of Toronto. Even today, many of Toronto's storm drain
s empty directly into the ravines. In case of overflow some parts of the sewer system
are also designed to empty into them. Recent decades have seen concerted efforts to protect the ravines, and to restore them to a more natural state. In 2002, the city issued a new bylaw protecting ravine lands.
Most of the ravines were long closed off from the city. The road network either bypassed the ravines, or crossed bridges running above them. Many people travelling through the city by private motor vehicle can thus be entirely unaware of the sharp variations in topography. It is only in recent years that a concerted effort has been made to integrate the ravines into a system of paths useful for pedestrians and cyclists. A number of the ravines now have paved paths, well maintained bridges, and stairs. Many others do not have such amenities, and the city intends to leave most of these areas unspoilt. The ravines are today popular with hikers and bicyclists, to the extent that erosion and wildlife disruption are becoming a problem in certain areas. While suitable for hiking, the rivers and creeks running through the ravines are still quite polluted and swimming and wading is inadvisable. There are many dangers for those exploring the ravines. Many areas are very rugged with poor paths and steep cliffs. There are few guardrails or stairs. Waterways are often fast moving and very cold, and can be deadly if one falls in. Poison ivy and nettle
s are also abundant.
While located in the heart of one of North America's largest cities, most of the ravines are deserted most of the time. This does lead to concerns about crime, and women especially are often discouraged from walking through them alone. While crimes do occur, they are not commonplace. A persistent problem is that of illegal dumping of garbage in the ravines.
Certain parts of the ravines are also known as gay cruising
areas. The ravines are also home to a considerable number of homeless
people, some of them living in fairly elaborate temporary structures. In 2001, The Globe and Mail
ran a three part series titled "The Outsiders" tracing the life of the homeless residents of the ravines over the course of nearly a year. It won a National Newspaper Award for best feature writing.
forms the eastern border of the former city of Etobicoke. It has several creeks feeding it, most prominently Black Creek, which have carved ravines in the northwestern part of the city.
The most prominent of the ravine systems is that connected to the Don River, which empties into Lake Ontario just to the east of downtown. While the lower Don was almost wholly industrialized, much of the rest of the ravine system was not heavily affected. Branching west off the lower Don are a series of ravines that surround the neighbourhood of Rosedale
, and extend further west past Bathurst Street, especially Castle Frank Brook, which extends as far as Lawrence Avenue
and Dufferin Street
. Located near to downtown, these are some of Toronto's most visible ravines.
At an area known as the Forks of the Don, four large ravines converge as three tributaries, each with its own ravine system, merge into the main river: the West Don, the East Don, and Taylor-Massey Creek. The West Don moves from the northwest through a number of large parks, and spreads through North York creating a number of ravines that run through that area and the suburbs north of the city. The East Don contains the Don Valley Parkway for its lower stretch, but further north becomes more verdant as it moves north through the suburbs. Taylor Creek flows almost directly from the east to the Forks, with its ravine heading into Scarborough before turning north near Warden Avenue and running to St. Clair Avenue East
.
Scarborough is home to two large ravine systems. Highland Creek
flows into Lake Ontario at the eastern edge of the Scarborough Bluffs
. It has a large watershed and a number of tributaries almost entirely confined to the Scarborough area. At the far east of the city of Toronto is the Rouge River system. Furthest away from the centre of the city, the area around it has been preserved from development by the creation of a provincial park that covers much of the river's watershed and a large network of ravines.
In addition to the ravines that surround these four major rivers, there are a number of smaller ravines scattered throughout the city. Etobicoke Creek
and Mimico Creek
in the west of the city both have long valleys. In the Beaches area, Glen Stewart Ravine no longer has a visible creek, having been transformed into a popular park.
Toronto's ravines have been presented as central to Toronto's character. Architect Larry Richards describes Toronto as topographically being "San Francisco turned upside down." They appear prominently in the works of most of Toronto's major writers such as Margaret Atwood
, Anne Michaels
, Robert Fulford, Morley Callaghan
and Ann-Marie MacDonald
. Ravines play an important background role in Atom Egoyan
's film Chloe
where the main characters live in a house atop the Cedarvale ravine. The unique topography of Toronto was one of the primary reasons Egoyan chose to set the film in Toronto.
Fulford has stated that the "ravines are the chief characteristic of the local terrain, its topographical signature. They are both a tangible (though often hidden) part of our surroundings and a persistent force in our civic imagination. They are the shared subconscious of the municipality, the places where much of the city's literature is born."
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. It is a network of deep ravine
Ravine
A ravine is a landform narrower than a canyon and is often the product of streamcutting erosion. Ravines are typically classified as larger in scale than gullies, although smaller than valleys. A ravine is generally a fluvial slope landform of relatively steep sides, on the order of twenty to...
s that form a large urban forest
Urban forest
An urban forest is a forest or a collection of trees that grow within a city, town or a suburb. In a wider sense it may include any kind of woody plant vegetation growing in and around human settlements. In a narrower sense it describes areas whose ecosystems are inherited from wilderness...
that runs throughout much of the city. For the most part designated as parkland, the ravines are largely undeveloped.
Origin
The terrain that the city of Toronto sits on was formed after the end of the last ice ageIce age
An ice age or, more precisely, glacial age, is a generic geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers...
some 12,000 years ago. The glaciers flattened the terrain, and deposited a thick layer of loose sand and soil over the region. Over the millennia even small rivers and creeks eroded
Erosion
Erosion is when materials are removed from the surface and changed into something else. It only works by hydraulic actions and transport of solids in the natural environment, and leads to the deposition of these materials elsewhere...
this soil cutting deep ravines through what is today the Toronto region. To the north of Toronto is the 1900-km2 Oak Ridges Moraine
Oak Ridges Moraine
The Oak Ridges Moraine is an ecologically important geological landform in the Mixedwood Plains of south-central Ontario, Canada. The moraine covers a geographic area of between Caledon and Rice Lake, near Peterborough...
. The largest ravines are home to the rivers running south from the Moraine to Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south by the American state of New York. Ontario, Canada's most populous province, was named for the lake. In the Wyandot language, ontarío means...
: the Humber River
Humber River (Ontario)
The Humber River is one of two major rivers on either side of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, the other being the Don River to the east. It was designated a Canadian Heritage River on September 24, 1999....
, the Don River, and the Rouge River
Rouge River (Ontario)
The Rouge River is a two river system. Little Rouge and Rouge River are in the east and the northeast parts of Toronto and begin in the Oak Ridges Moraine in Richmond Hill and Whitchurch-Stouffville...
. Smaller creeks and streams rise within Toronto from rain and melt water.
Despite the dense population of metropolitan Toronto, many of the ravines have been left close to their natural state. The most important reason for this is the danger of flooding. The rivers and streams that flow through the ravines are highly variable. During the late summer many of the smaller ones will slow to a trickle or even disappear completely. During the spring and after major storms, the creeks often overflow their banks. Every few decades, a massive flooding event will occur where the ravines are almost totally flooded. The most recent such event was in 1954 when Hurricane Hazel
Hurricane Hazel
Hurricane Hazel was the deadliest and costliest hurricane of the 1954 Atlantic hurricane season. The storm killed as many as 1,000 people in Haiti before striking the United States near the border between North and South Carolina, as a Category 4 hurricane...
arrived. That storm dropped over 12 cm (5 inches) of rain on the city in a day onto soil that was already waterlogged by a week of rain. In the post-war boom years several developments had begun to encroach on the ravine lands, and these neighbourhoods were badly damaged by the storm. Whole blocks were washed away and 81 people killed. The damage was most severe along the Humber River, where a part of a street
Raymore Drive
Raymore Drive is a mostly residential street in the Weston neighbourhood of Toronto in the Canadian province of Ontario. It runs next to the Humber River. On October 15, 1954, the area was severely affected by Hurricane Hazel. When the Humber River burst its banks and tore away a footbridge, the...
was destroyed completely. This disaster led to an almost complete ban on development in the ravines, and a new Region Conservation Authority
Toronto and Region Conservation Authority
Toronto and Region Conservation Authority or Office de protection de la nature de Toronto et de la région is one of 36 conservation authorities in Ontario, Canada...
was created to maintain them as open spaces.
Human use
The largest of the ravines, the Don Valley, is one of the most transformed. The southern portion of the Don was completely encased in a concrete channel to prevent flooding and allow industry to locate in the area. Along the length of the valley, first the rail lines and then the six-lane Don Valley Parkway
Don Valley Parkway
The Don Valley Parkway is a controlled-access six-lane municipal expressway in Toronto connecting the Gardiner Expressway in downtown Toronto with Ontario Highway 401, the Macdonald–Cartier Freeway. North of Highway 401, it continues as Ontario Highway 404. The parkway runs through...
were constructed. Today the industries along the lower Don are gone, and significant efforts are underway to restore the lower Don to a more natural condition.
Several smaller ravines have almost completely disappeared due to development and industrial use. Smaller creeks running through the downtown
Urban stream
An urban stream is a formerly natural waterway that flows through a heavily populated area. Urban streams are often significantly polluted, due to urban runoff and combined sewer outflows....
, such as Garrison Creek
Garrison Creek
Garrison Creek was a short stream about long that flowed southeast into the west side of Toronto Harbour in Ontario, Canada.It has been largely covered over and filled in, but geographical traces of the creek can still be found. The natural amphitheatre known as Christie Pits is one such remnant;...
and Taddle Creek
Taddle Creek
Taddle Creek is a buried stream in Toronto, Ontario, Canada that flowed a southeasterly course about six kilometres long, from the present site of Wychwood Park through the University of Toronto, into the Toronto Harbour near the Distillery District. During the 19th century, it was buried and...
, were almost completely bricked over
Subterranean river
A subterranean river is a river that runs wholly or partly beneath the ground surface – one where the riverbed does not represent the surface of the Earth ....
and today run deep under the modern city centre. These were used as sewers by the early residents of Toronto. Even today, many of Toronto's storm drain
Storm drain
A storm drain, storm sewer , stormwater drain or drainage well system or simply a drain or drain system is designed to drain excess rain and ground water from paved streets, parking lots, sidewalks, and roofs. Storm drains vary in design from small residential dry wells to large municipal systems...
s empty directly into the ravines. In case of overflow some parts of the sewer system
Sanitary sewer
A sanitary sewer is a separate underground carriage system specifically for transporting sewage from houses and commercial buildings to treatment or disposal. Sanitary sewers serving industrial areas also carry industrial wastewater...
are also designed to empty into them. Recent decades have seen concerted efforts to protect the ravines, and to restore them to a more natural state. In 2002, the city issued a new bylaw protecting ravine lands.
Most of the ravines were long closed off from the city. The road network either bypassed the ravines, or crossed bridges running above them. Many people travelling through the city by private motor vehicle can thus be entirely unaware of the sharp variations in topography. It is only in recent years that a concerted effort has been made to integrate the ravines into a system of paths useful for pedestrians and cyclists. A number of the ravines now have paved paths, well maintained bridges, and stairs. Many others do not have such amenities, and the city intends to leave most of these areas unspoilt. The ravines are today popular with hikers and bicyclists, to the extent that erosion and wildlife disruption are becoming a problem in certain areas. While suitable for hiking, the rivers and creeks running through the ravines are still quite polluted and swimming and wading is inadvisable. There are many dangers for those exploring the ravines. Many areas are very rugged with poor paths and steep cliffs. There are few guardrails or stairs. Waterways are often fast moving and very cold, and can be deadly if one falls in. Poison ivy and nettle
Nettle
Nettles constitute between 24 and 39 species of flowering plants of the genus Urtica in the family Urticaceae, with a cosmopolitan though mainly temperate distribution. They are mostly herbaceous perennial plants, but some are annual and a few are shrubby...
s are also abundant.
While located in the heart of one of North America's largest cities, most of the ravines are deserted most of the time. This does lead to concerns about crime, and women especially are often discouraged from walking through them alone. While crimes do occur, they are not commonplace. A persistent problem is that of illegal dumping of garbage in the ravines.
Certain parts of the ravines are also known as gay cruising
Cruising for sex
Cruising for sex, or cruising is the act of walking or driving about a locality in search of a sex partner, usually of the anonymous, casual, one-time variety...
areas. The ravines are also home to a considerable number of homeless
Homelessness
Homelessness describes the condition of people without a regular dwelling. People who are homeless are unable or unwilling to acquire and maintain regular, safe, and adequate housing, or lack "fixed, regular, and adequate night-time residence." The legal definition of "homeless" varies from country...
people, some of them living in fairly elaborate temporary structures. In 2001, The Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail is a nationally distributed Canadian newspaper, based in Toronto and printed in six cities across the country. With a weekly readership of approximately 1 million, it is Canada's largest-circulation national newspaper and second-largest daily newspaper after the Toronto Star...
ran a three part series titled "The Outsiders" tracing the life of the homeless residents of the ravines over the course of nearly a year. It won a National Newspaper Award for best feature writing.
Locations
There are four major groups of ravines, and many smaller groups scattered throughout the city. In the west, the Humber RiverHumber River (Ontario)
The Humber River is one of two major rivers on either side of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, the other being the Don River to the east. It was designated a Canadian Heritage River on September 24, 1999....
forms the eastern border of the former city of Etobicoke. It has several creeks feeding it, most prominently Black Creek, which have carved ravines in the northwestern part of the city.
The most prominent of the ravine systems is that connected to the Don River, which empties into Lake Ontario just to the east of downtown. While the lower Don was almost wholly industrialized, much of the rest of the ravine system was not heavily affected. Branching west off the lower Don are a series of ravines that surround the neighbourhood of Rosedale
Rosedale, Toronto
Rosedale is an affluent neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, which was formerly the estate of William Botsford Jarvis, and so named by his wife, granddaughter of William Dummer Powell, for the wild roses that grew there in abundance....
, and extend further west past Bathurst Street, especially Castle Frank Brook, which extends as far as Lawrence Avenue
Lawrence Avenue
Lawrence Avenue is a major east-west thoroughfare in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is divided into east and west portions by Yonge Street, the dividing line of east-west streets in Toronto....
and Dufferin Street
Dufferin Street
Dufferin Street is a major north-south street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is a concession road, two concessions west of Yonge Street. The street starts at the foot of Lake Ontario, continues north to Toronto's northern boundary with some discontinuities and continues into York Region where it...
. Located near to downtown, these are some of Toronto's most visible ravines.
At an area known as the Forks of the Don, four large ravines converge as three tributaries, each with its own ravine system, merge into the main river: the West Don, the East Don, and Taylor-Massey Creek. The West Don moves from the northwest through a number of large parks, and spreads through North York creating a number of ravines that run through that area and the suburbs north of the city. The East Don contains the Don Valley Parkway for its lower stretch, but further north becomes more verdant as it moves north through the suburbs. Taylor Creek flows almost directly from the east to the Forks, with its ravine heading into Scarborough before turning north near Warden Avenue and running to St. Clair Avenue East
St. Clair Avenue
St. Clair Avenue is a major east-west street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was laid out in the late 18th century by the British as a concession road , north of Bloor Street and north of Queen Street....
.
Scarborough is home to two large ravine systems. Highland Creek
Highland Creek (Toronto)
Highland Creek is a river in the Scarborough district of Toronto, Ontario, emptying into Lake Ontario at the eastern end of the Scarborough Bluffs. It is home to several species of fish including trout, carp, and bass. It is a meandering river which, like most rivers in Toronto , travels through a...
flows into Lake Ontario at the eastern edge of the Scarborough Bluffs
Scarborough Bluffs
The Scarborough Bluffs is an escarpment in Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Forming much of the eastern portion of Toronto's waterfront, it is located along the shoreline of Lake Ontario. At its highest point, the escarpment rises above its foot and spans a length of...
. It has a large watershed and a number of tributaries almost entirely confined to the Scarborough area. At the far east of the city of Toronto is the Rouge River system. Furthest away from the centre of the city, the area around it has been preserved from development by the creation of a provincial park that covers much of the river's watershed and a large network of ravines.
In addition to the ravines that surround these four major rivers, there are a number of smaller ravines scattered throughout the city. Etobicoke Creek
Etobicoke Creek
Etobicoke Creek is one of the many creeks running through Toronto, Ontario and the Toronto Area into Lake Ontario, often characterized by their winding paths through deep ravines and distinctive shale banks....
and Mimico Creek
Mimico Creek
Mimico Creek is a 33 km watercourse with its headwaters in Brampton, Ontario, and its mouth in Toronto, Ontario.The watershed lies between the Humber River to the east and Etobicoke Creek to the west....
in the west of the city both have long valleys. In the Beaches area, Glen Stewart Ravine no longer has a visible creek, having been transformed into a popular park.
In culture
Margaret Atwood
Margaret Eleanor Atwood, is a Canadian poet, novelist, literary critic, essayist, and environmental activist. She is among the most-honoured authors of fiction in recent history; she is a winner of the Arthur C...
, Anne Michaels
Anne Michaels
-Background:Anne Michaels was born in Toronto, Ontario, in 1958. Michaels attended Vaughan Road Academy and then later the University of Toronto, where she is an adjunct faculty in the Department of English. Her first book, The Weight of Oranges , a volume of poetry, was awarded the Commonwealth...
, Robert Fulford, Morley Callaghan
Morley Callaghan
Morley Callaghan, was a Canadian novelist, short story writer, playwright, TV and radio personality.-Biography:...
and Ann-Marie MacDonald
Ann-Marie MacDonald
Ann-Marie MacDonald is a Canadian playwright, novelist, actor and broadcast journalist who lives in Toronto, Ontario. The daughter of a member of Canada's military, she was born at an air force base near Baden-Baden, West Germany....
. Ravines play an important background role in Atom Egoyan
Atom Egoyan
Atom Egoyan, OC is a critically acclaimed Armenian-Canadian stage director and film director. Egoyan made his career breakthrough with Exotica...
's film Chloe
Chloe (film)
Chloe is a 2009 erotic thriller directed by Atom Egoyan, a remake of the 2004 French film Nathalie.... This version stars Julianne Moore, Liam Neeson, and Amanda Seyfried in the title role...
where the main characters live in a house atop the Cedarvale ravine. The unique topography of Toronto was one of the primary reasons Egoyan chose to set the film in Toronto.
Fulford has stated that the "ravines are the chief characteristic of the local terrain, its topographical signature. They are both a tangible (though often hidden) part of our surroundings and a persistent force in our civic imagination. They are the shared subconscious of the municipality, the places where much of the city's literature is born."
See also
- Crothers' WoodsCrothers' WoodsCrothers' Woods is an area of the Don River valley in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is approximately 25 ha in size and consists of woodland, meadows, wetlands, and an assortment of past and present municipal uses. The wooded area has been designated as an Environmentally Significant Area by the...
- Rouge ParkRouge ParkRouge Park will become an urban national park located along the border of Toronto and Pickering, Ontario, Canada. It will be Canada's first national park within a municipality....
- Native trees in TorontoNative Trees in TorontoNative trees in Toronto are trees that are naturally growing in Toronto and not introduced by European settlers to the area.Many of Toronto's native trees have been displaced by non-native plants and trees introduced by settlers from Europe and Asia from the 18th century to the present.The type of...
- Hamilton ravine systemHamilton Ravine SystemThe Hamilton ravine system is one of the most distinctive features of the geography of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. It is a network of deep ravines that form a large urban forest that runs throughout much of the city. For the most part designated as parkland, the ravines are somewhat...